Cyprus and Israel announce ‘breakthroughs’ in gas dispute

Cyprus and Israel on Monday announced “significant progress” in resolving a dispute over an offshore gas field, reaffirming their intention to quickly reach an agreement.

Cypriot energy ministers Natasa Pilides and Israeli Karine Elharrar held talks in the Cypriot capital and told the media they wanted to reach a “quick and fair solution.”

Israel claims that part of a Cypriot field called Aphrodite, which is estimated to contain 4.4 billion cubic meters, is located in its Yishai field and wants to draw a demarcation line between the exclusive economic zones of Cyprus and Israel.

Negotiations have been going on for years.

But now the European Union needs to get rid of Russian sources of energy, which, after the invasion of Ukraine by the Kremlin troops, has given these negotiations a new meaning.

“In light of the global energy crisis and Europe’s growing demand for gas, I believe it is in our interest for the parties to expedite a fast, transparent and fair settlement,” Elharrar said in a joint statement.

For his part, Pilides stressed that the parties have made “significant progress” in developing a path leading to an agreement, adding that negotiations will continue in the coming weeks.

Chevron and its partners Shell and Israel’s NewMed Energy own the exploration rights to the Aphrodita deposit and have already said the development plan will be ready by the end of the year.

Further drilling will take place in the coming months to gather more information on the size of the deposit.

The outlook for Aphrodite, as well as other offshore Cypriot discoveries, has been strengthened after the European Union confirmed that gas could fuel a clean energy transition reaching by 2050.

Environmental groups have sued accusing the European Union of failing to meet its commitment to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.